Reymer
by Captain Jack Dreamer
Summary: A mysterious stone appears in the bath. How is the mouse at Redwall linked to it and what is their quest.
1. Discovery

The snake had managed to wind itself around the bath taps, its thick, hose like body moving ever so slightly, creamy brown and gold, one look at it and you knew it was a killer and the end of your life. So I sat there, in the bath, trying my best not to move or even breathe.

Slither... I looked up from the dirty bath water, where I had been staring. The snake had turned its scaly head towards me and was drawing its long pink tongue in and out, with a hiss, as if teasing me. How had the snake got into Redwall abbey? There were snakes in mossflower woods, that was for sure, but not one inside the abbey walls. Frozen with fear, I continued to stare back, hoping it would go away, hoping it was a dream... Nothing changed, this wasn't a dream, it was real, and I was in the middle of it. I wasn't an expert on snakes, actually I 'd rarely seen them, but I noticed a slight lump in its throat as if something had got caught there and stuck. Hiss...I looked up again, once more I had been staring into the bath water. Nearly kicking myself for being so stupid, I looked up into the snakes ugly, yellow eyes. A thought came into my head, as if from nowhere, 'why didn't this snake seem a threat?' Now that it was getting closer, it felt as if the snake was a friend. I tried to clear my head, now I was just being stupid, how could a snake be your friend? they were the enemy of all redwallers. Plop...I was again staring at the water, but I looked up at the sound, the lump in the snakes throat was gone. I glanced down at the water to see a glimmering pointed object slowly sink to rest on the bottom of the bath. It lay there, occasionally lifting as water moved under it.

The snake, which seemed to have decided it had accomplished its task, was slowly uncoiling its two metre length, turning away from me and sank slowly down onto the floor. I watched intently as it dragged itself across the length of the bathroom and somehow managed to slide out of the open window, then it disappeared round the corner and out of sight.

I was left standing in the middle of the bathroom, my dull brown fur still dripping and my hazel eyes staring at the space where, moments before, I had been confronted by a giant menacing serpent, me, infant mouse, Shraim Landley, not believing I had just witnessed it.

Climbing out of the bath, I wrapped a towel round myself, dried myself off and pulled the plug. Gurgle, slurp suck, the water drained out of the bath. The gurgling dyed away, but the bath wasn't empty, something was blocking the plug hole. It was the item that the snake had coughed up. Walking back over to the bath, I suddenly stopped, what was I doing? The item had caused harm to the snake, what if it harmed me? I moved closer, my curiousness overwhelming me, making me look down into the polished white bath wanting to pick up the sparkling star-like object. I leaned over the brim, and picked it up out of the bath where the water was eventually draining away. The mysterious object seemed to be some sort of a stone and as I turned it slowly over in my paws, it shone and sparkled as brightly as a star, dazzling me. It was as if the sun had fallen out of the sky to be placed in my outstretched paws. I held it close against my palm, feeling its coolness for such a bright object. I felt the smoothness of one side, perfect. Turning it over, I felt the other side rough and rugged to my touch, as if it had been cut off a larger stone.

Walking over to the window, I held the gem up to the light and watched delighted, as the sun hit its sparkling surface, reflecting star-like disco dots on the walls, forming their own mini constellations dancing in the light. It was beautiful, almost perfect.

As I studied the glistening jewel, I noticed something I didn't see before, an engraving. It was written on the smooth side of the stone and seemed to slice right through it, making it stand out in the sunlight. Sure that it hadn't been there when I had first held it in my still shaking paws, I read the inscription.

'Reymer' it read. It wasn't like any word I had ever heard before, as I said it, it seemed to echo round the whole bathroom, being repeated over and over, ringing with happiness. The sound lit a flame somewhere inside me, making me want to explode with a tremendous feeling I couldn't describe. I felt invincible.

"Shraim" called a voice from outside the door, Abbot Klaus, was calling for me. "Are you out of the bath yet? The feast is about to start." he informed me. "Just coming" I shouted back. Sighing, I hurriedly dressed, stuffed the Reymer stone into my pouch and ran down the stone abbey steps, my fur dripping as I went, determined to find out the meaning of that extraordinarily special word.

I sat down in the great hall, plates upon plates of food lined the table. Deeper than ever pie, summer pudding, all the usual food for a summer feast. As I sat there, the light from outside reflecting off my plate, I thought about my problem. Was there anything else I could do?

Yes, I thought. There is something, what does reymer mean?

The abbot was sitting at the head of the table, deep in conversation with the matron.

He had lived at Redwall all of his life, so he would probably know a lot about the local dialect, I thought. The question was, should I ask him. He seemed to get upset over the funniest things, and could have such a bad temper when he wanted, that I would probably end up in my room for asking the wrong question. I decided to take the risk. I would wait until after the feast then have a private word.

"Father abbot?" I asked cautiously. "Have you ever heard of the word, 'Reymer'?" I paused, holding my breath, expecting to hear 'no' or 'go to your room for being stupid'. He looked at me, down his half moon glasses, looking very wise and ancient for a second, before he answered "Now, that's a word I haven't heard in a long time." he replied. "When I was a young mouse, it was used often, now it's used rarely in every day conversation" he informed me.

"What does it mean?" I asked, surprised I had had such a quick reply. Now I was longing to hear the answer I had been waiting for, for what seemed such a long time.

"It means moon." he replied. I had expected to feel something happen when he said it, something special, magical, like in the bathroom, but nothing. Not even a tingle. Now I came to think of it, there was nothing special in finding a sparkling 'moon stone' after all, it could happen to anymouse, but still... it felt as if there should be something else that I needed to find out, something I needed to know, but I didn't know what. Abbot Klaus didn't ask me any more questions, just finished clearing away his plates, and left me thinking about the 'moon' stone.

By the time I eventually left the great hall, it was night outside, and the moon was out. I yawned, completely exhausted by the days events. I made my way to the dormitory, brushed my teeth, undressed and collapsed onto my coverless bed, holding the moon stone against my palm, once more feeling its surprising coolness. I lay there for a while, staring at the moonlit ceiling, thinking everything over. What if there was something in it all? What if I had been chosen for something?

Now I was just being stupid, even if prophesiers did exist, why would they choose me?

I yawned again, even more deeply, I would figure things out in the morning. For now I just needed to sleep. The coldness against my palm overwhelmed me, and I drifted into sleep.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hoped you liked the first chapter, if you did please, please, please review!


	2. The dream

I awoke, but it wasn't morning, I was still asleep. A dream. A dense fog surrounded me, making me feel like I was caught up in a blustery snowstorm. The moaning, howling wind was swept all around, lifting the early autumn leaves that lay about, into the air, swirling round and round as if they were part of a ceremonial dance. I was outside the abbey, I thought, in the orchard, but then, as the denser fog passed, shapes came looming through the bleakness. I found myself standing in what seemed to be a courtyard, I could just make out fields that lay all round in the distance. It seemed to be part of the mossflower area. It was Autumn, so the crops should have been harvested long ago, but they still lay in the fields, surrounded by the harshness of the fog. I changed my mind, this was nowhere I had ever been before...The air cleared a bit more and I was able to see all the way to the edges of the courtyard. In the centre stood what seemed to be a font / basin. Beautiful images of happier times were intricately carved into the stone work. The focus of the dream seemed to be on this font, because any remaining light was caught up in mid-path and carried to it, leaving darkness where the light had been. As I watched, figures came half walking, half dragging themselves along surrounding paths to it. I soon became to realise that they were forming a circle around the font, and I, who had made my way to it, was in the centre of it all.

From here I could clearly see the faces of the animals, half starved, and staring as if right through me, some with their eyes closed, but all facing the font, they were praying to God for help.

They had crops, I had seen them, why didn't they eat, instead of starving to death?... or couldn't they eat? I scanned the circle of dying creatures, looking for an answer. A figure stood out among the crowds, a female badger, her significant white stripe and shining eyes standing out against her black face. Stepping forward from the circle, she nodded her head towards me in acknowledgement, then spoke.

"Shraim." She spoke in a voice of leadership and authority.

"You have been brought here for a purpose" she continued.

"We need your help!"

At this point, I was certain that it was one of those strange random dreams you sometimes get.

"Shraim." The badger called to me again.

"Do not be fooled into thinking that this is a meaningless dream only because you are asleep, this is real." Now I started to get a bit uncomfortable, how could this be real when the lady herself had admitted that I was asleep, or was it real?

The badger persisted, "Shraim, we need your help, you have to help the world of Reymerstoe."

This time I answered, my voice triggered by the word 'Reymer'. " How can I help?" I replied, my voice shaking, feeling even more wary at the mention of that word.

" Our energy source is dying, we are down to one final shard, its power being slowly drained without the rest of it to sustain its energy. You were given that last part, our light. You have it Shraim, that shard, here with you."

Even as she said it, I knew she was talking about the 'moon' stone. I could feel it cold against my palm, vibrating at its return home. Slowly, I opened my paw, feeling the warmth and light it was emitting, slowly spreading to its surroundings. I could see the pain and hunger being lifted from the faces of the Reymerstoe citizens, as the light touched them.

"My name is Farrah Gahalashield, leader of these creatures," the badger spoke, with a new flair in her voice.

"This renewal of energy will not last long, soon it will drain away once more and leave us to die. It is up to you to find the other part of the stone, only you can find it, hidden in somewhere in your world, or you send us to our death!..." She paused ,then looked me straight in the eye with determination, ready to give the command.

"Now go!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's my second chapter up, I hope you like the story! Please Review!


	3. Mossflower

I woke sweating, the Reymer stone still clutched tightly in my fist, I knew what I must do. The moon was slanting off the wooden beams in the dormitory ceiling, giving the room an eerie glow. Carefully I slid off my bed, careful not to wake the others in the beds next to me, and hurriedly dressed, there was no time to lose. I had only a few hours before the light was gone for good and Reymerstoe was no more.

I opened my paw and exposed my palm to the brilliant light of the full moon. The Reymer stone glowed, emitting its own light, like it had in the bathroom and more recently, in the dream.

The force of the stone was powerful, pulling me towards the window and down, out into the cool night air. The stirring wind whipped warm air about my bare ankles, as I landed like a cat on four paws, I felt no impact. I was invincible once more, but this time the feeling didn't fade, but remained, strong and powerful within me. I knew where the stone was, it was like I had known all along, but just hadn't realised I knew. The warmth within me gave me courage, I ran, the stone pulling me on, faster and faster, nearer and nearer, towards the abbey gates and out into mossflower woods.

I plunged into dense trees, creepers scratching me with their bony fingers. I was close, I could feel the warmth of the stone close by, emitting its heat to the surrounding forest. I felt the warmth inside me go, but I could feel it close by, but where? The darkness closed in and I fell into dreamless sleep.

I woke, dirty and scratched as the moon reflected off a nearby pool, into my eyes, making me sit up in the light, wondering where I was. I had been out most of the night, but it was still far too early for anyone to notice I was missing. Everything came back to me in a flood, like a rush of water. The stone. I could still feel that faint warmth from a few hours before and as I stood up, it seemed to grow.

I came out upon the pool, shivering and glistening, the moon reflected in the water, brilliant but not quite whole, a narrow sliver was missing, as if it had been cut right out of the moon. Bending down to touch the surface, it rippled under my touch and I found it boiling hot, though the sun was not yet up. I felt it within me, I had known it all along. The stone was the moon. As once more I opened my paw to expose my palm, the stone shivered and gradually lifted up and out of my paw to join its other part in the water. As it joined together, the whole ground seemed to shiver as if it had been anticipating this moment for years. I watched, enthralled by this breathtaking moment, as the reflection disappeared piece by piece from sight, I knew in my heart that the world of Reymerstoe was whole again.

Looking back at the water, I saw the shard of Reymer stone remained, slowly floating to the edge of the pool below my feet. The voice of Farrah echoed inside me, "A gift, with our thanks." I carefully drew the Reymer stone out of the water, still dripping and silently thanked Farrah, as it spread warmth to my renewed heart.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please review because I need to know what you think! PLEASE! That's all for now, see ya!


End file.
